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More politicisation over Bahrain GP

Politicians are never slow to spot an opportunity and it is clear from some of the opinions being expressed in the UK media that there are questions about Bahrain and whether or not it is a good idea to hold the event. The F1 industry is largely a British phenomenon and thus there is more interest in such things than there is in France or Italy where the reporting is generally restricted to subjects that interest the locals. The British Government is not warning people to stay away from Bahrain, but it is listing all the protests and suggesting things that visitors can do to avoid getting into trouble.

Last week the British Foreign Secretary Williams Hague said that it is up to F1 to “assess the security situation in Bahrain and also to decide politically if they want to go”. There is an implication in that statement that should not be missed. Hague made it clear that there is a political dimension to the event that takes it beyond the spheres of sport and security.

Now the British Shadow Foreign Secretary (the opposition party’s spokesman on foreign affairs) has said that the race should be cancelled.

“F1 bosses should call off the scheduled Bahrain Grand Prix,” he said. “To go ahead at present risks sending the wrong signal at a time when the authorities in Bahrain should be focused on delivering real reform.”

The international human rights organisations are continuing to try to stop the event.

The Bahrain government maintains that all is well. The FIA agrees.

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Difficult times raise these thoughts:
a) be careful about allowing focus groups to force your hand as ones pop up everywhere for virtually all races; certainly places like China. You might even have the green lobby wanting Silverstone to be stopped.
b) If the FIA, after considerable scrutiny, deems it safe then so be it, let’s race;
c) If they have got it wrong then Jean Todt has to fall on his sword.

A) When 50,000 Greens continuously march on Silverstone and the authorities ruthlessly suppress and terrorize said protestors; when people are dying and being tortured; then PLEASE cancel the race. Then get your house back in order before expecting another race.
B) What if the head of the FIA has his own self centered reasons for supporting the charade, in spite of the mountain of evidence available?

Your admonition for thought is always wise, but Bahrain is a simple matter of involving a sporting event in the political inner turmoil of a country that is attempting to buy the perception of support and stability.

So as long as the human rights abuses take place in private, away from the track, that’s OK?

The politicisation is relevant to why the race should or should not take place, but human rights abuses are not relevant as to why the race should or should not take place. Or, to be more exact, if you’re so vexed about the Bahrainis’ behaviour, I’d be questioning why you’re not bothered about the other Arab GPs, in addition to the Chinese GP.

Not that I don’t love the odd bit of emotionally charged rhetoric in the absense of reasoned debate but isn’t this a bit much?

The sport is tacitly encouraging the status quo in Bahrain. However the belief, which in my view is mildly naive, is that bringing F1 to Bahrain will help the country reform and unite. If you follow this blog and heard the Asides with Joe on Sidepodcast you’ll recall Bahrain did take some steps towards reform and commissioned then published a report which was critical of the situation in the country.

That is, Bahrain has taken some steps in the right direction and I can only assume F1 thinks this would be another such step.

Joe’s said that he believes it’s just too early for F1 to go to Bahrain. That too little meaningful progress has taken place to justify the risk and exposure for the sport.

For my part, I think it’s naive to say the politics and the sport are separate. Citizens of Commonwealth countries will recall how we isolated South Africa from sporting events during Apartheid, which did not hasten the demise of that system but sent a clear message nonetheless. I think the most effective thing F1 could do is not go to Bahrain and to publicly state they acknowledge and support the regime’s steps towards meaningful reform; but that more is still needed. F1 should then go on to say there’s still strong committment to seeing a race in Bahrain, conditional on some quantifiable mechanism of change. Carrot and stick them.

An incident happening this weekend would be good for Bahrain, but terrible for the sport. I don’t know what that says about me that I hope nothing happens…

No, Nick, no. The sport is not effectively doing that. At no point has anyone given a solid thumbs up, ringing endorsement for the regime in Bahrain. Nobody has said that they’re just the best guys out there and if they’re doing something, anything, we’re sure it’s the best thing to be done.

I suggest you try approaching this issue letting your head rather than your heart determine your response. That is, try letting the emotion not cloud your judgement as the inevitable bi-product of that is hyperbolic hysteria, and that undermines your credibility quickly.

F1 cancelled the GP last year over concerns which, it would seem, have been largely addressed to the FIA’s satisfaction. Until recently the prevailing sentiment is “we’ll monitor it and see”, which recently morphed into “we’re going, it’s better now”.

F1’s view has been that going will in some measure (and I personally am not sure how they conclude this) be a positive influence for the reform and liberalisation of the country. That F1’s input or legacy will be to bring people together in a collaborative way, rather than by widening a schism between the empowered and disenfranchised.

I find this naive. However to be fair, sport has been a fantastically unifying entity in many ways, in many places and around many conflicts in the past.

Reducing the world to black-and-white binaries may make it easier or less terrifying to understand but it also oversimplifies complex issues, relationships and motives. The net effect is that a person is compelled to believe that in something like F1 going to Bahrain, F1 is “sponsoring a regime that abuses human rights”, or other irrational silliness.

I think we largely agree in the opinion that F1 going to Bahrain carries significant risk and might be ill-opportune. There’s no points to be scored by being the most shrill in pushing this position forward “TO THE EXTREME!!1!”.

“Citizens of Commonwealth countries will recall how we isolated South Africa from sporting events during Apartheid, which did not hasten the demise of that system but sent a clear message nonetheless.”

F1 didn’t. It took until 1985 for F1 to make any waves about Apartheid and that was because the French government stepped up and insisted that French teams shouldn’t go.

But ultimately each have our own ideas of the degree to which the sport should get involved with these issues.

Should the FIA blacklist Bahrain for being undemocratic? China? UAE? Should it cancel plans to go to Russia due to suspected electoral fraud, or support of Assad’s regime in Syria? Should the US grand prix be contingent on closing Guantanamo Bay and fully investigating human rights abuses in Iraq and Afghanistan?

And how democratic is democratic anyway? The UK saw the biggest mass protest in centuries against going to war in Iraq and the government did it anyway. Should the 2003 British Grand Prix have been cancelled?

Who decides on this stuff? Do we base it on Amnesty International’s view? The Economist’s Democracy Index – if so, what’s a failing score? UN Resolutions? Jean Todt’s opinion?

Be careful what you wish for – if nothing else because there are a lot of questions which someone would need to be able to answer.

There are a number of seemingly very credible sources who’re prepared to tell you that there are no major issues in Bahrain. There are others who will tell you that the country is under the heel of an oppressive regime and on the verge of chaos. How do you define whether a source is credible or not?

Is a green-grocer who sees his shop smashed up a credible source because he’s there on the ground? Or is he just the victim in one isolated incident in a country totally at peace?

Is an ambassador in a far off “ivory tower” a non-credible source because he’s too far from the action? Or is he better able to impartially collate the reports and figures from the whole country?

Is Amnesty International a credible source because it’s a non-governmental international charity? Or is it likely to sensationalise the issues in order to obtain media exposure and greater donations?

Is John Yates a credible source because he’s an ex-Assistant Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police? Or is he being fed the information which the Bahraini authorities want him to see, effectively giving him plausible deniability on the risks?

Who gets to decide who’s credible and who isn’t? Who gets to chair that committee and lobby one way or the other?

One of the major reasons for a policy of F1 being apolitical is that it doesn’t force you to answer these incredibly tough moral questions. Instead you get to look at two much simpler ones:
1) What are the risks to F1 people, are we putting people in serious danger?
2) What is the cost-benefit analysis of going ahead with the race?

At the weekend the left leaning broadsheet “The Observer” ran with it’s leader “Bahrain Grand Prix: Formula One demeans itself with this event”.

Patrick Collins, Sports commentator on the “Daily Mail” (right leaning UK Tabloid and one of the most successful news websites in the world) writes:

“I do suggest that when Stewart, Ecclestone and Yates of the Yard speak with a single voice, then the wisest place to be is on the other side of the argument. And when protesting passions run as high as they are running in Bahrain, then simple prudence would seem the wiser course.”

FAZ, the influential German broadsheet wrote an article about alleged “torture of detainees in the pits” on the weekend a German won in a Mercedes.

I’ve always been a firm believer in the fact that there is such a thing as bad publicity, although others will believe differently. Formula One is already paying a high price for not realising that whenever there is a conflict, sport at this level will always be dragged into it whether or not they bury their heads in the sand and go into denial or not.

Last night we had a Bahraini protestor climb the London Embassy roof, threatening to throw himself off.

Since sponsorship value is measured in column inches and viewership figures, how much has this negative publicity already cost? Since money seems to be the driving factor in the decision to go, not human rights, then even on that basis the bean-counters should start to worry.

The question is whether or not you see this as simply a matter of security – will the teams and their personnel be safe – or whether or not such a prestigious event gives a semblance of legitimacy to a discredited and repressive regime. If the former – and if F1 is indeed a whore who has no values – then fine. If not, and if anyone involved has any political understanding at all (I’m looking at you, Jake Humphries) then they should do the right thing and stay away. This will rebound badly on F1, all for the sake of the Ecclestone dollar.

I’m glad that someone else appears not to have swallowed Bernie’s line that this is all about security and whether the teams and reporters will be safe. F1 going to Bahrain is a not-so-tacit indication that the FIA and Bernie et al. are supporters of the ruling regime. This is an overtly political move, even if the motivating factor is lucre.

On the one hand you could argue that it was ever thus. F1 was the only international sport to keep competing in South Africa during the apartheid protest boycotts. F1 was active in Argentina and Spain during their dictatorships. F1 has just staged a race in China, at a time when the other large story coming out of the country is Ai Weiwei’s continuing house arrest. There are many more instances, and quite a few of them are still on the F1 calendar.

While I still love the racing and technical aspects of Formula One, you have to say that the morality of those involved is nigh on zero. They may wring hands and mutter dissatisfaction behind closed doors, but while they remain silent in public – or only worry about security (read “themselves”) or vacillate on whether or not the event should happen – then prostitution and whoredom seem apt accusations. Show us the money and hang the consequences seems to be the mantra.

Please do try to keep in mind the doctors, who are still being prosecuted for simply tending to the injured, while you are rubbing shoulders with the princes and sheikhs in the pitlane this weekend, Joe. I know that you are well aware of the continuing problems of Bahrain and I trust you to be alive to political posturing. Unfortunately, I’m not at all sure that much of the mass media will be so conscientious.

Yes, I did. But being an F1 fan and somebody interested in human rights and equitable treatment of all is sometimes something of a stretch. I was thinking of Ai Weiwei, just as during the Malaysian GP I was thinking of the Dayak and Orang Ulu, and just as I think about the Amazon tribes when watching the Brazilian GP. Sometimes it is a case of government action, and sometimes a case of inaction and “institutional racism”, but the harder you look at the Formula One calendar to more you realise that it seems to be a sport that visits a surprising number of politically troubled countries. However, Bahrain is the only one who has decided that F1 should be an active part of their propaganda machine in dealing with their internal strife.

Jake humphries is contractually obliged to go much as all the BBC staff are (and Sky staff I would imagine). I think journalists follow the events and I’d prefer them to be there if the FIA and BE are foolish enough to accept the ‘calculated risk’ the Bahraini race director has accepted.

Typical politician statement by shadow foreign sec. If it all goes well, he will hide in his office and say nothing. If it goes wrong, he will shout “I told you so” from the roof tops. They would rather set their trousers on fire than ever admit they have got something wrong.

I keep wilfully forgetting this embarrassment of embarrassments, the parliamentary system of “opposition”. All the while we perpetuate it, there’s little hope for us to expect other countries believe we are civilised. Not that I would or could, but it does amuse me my religion bars me from the top job. (one must be CofE) because I feel I am spared responsibility thereby! If I was a dictator, I’d have PMQs simultaneously translated to my populous, and revel in the safety from the outburst of democracy that would guarantee me. Then again, much the same goes if you watch parliamentary debates anywhere. Without ever beginning to fondle my tin foil hat, I wonder if the root cause of the trend towards draconian laws is not simply gubernatorial embarrassment. Why else would a functionary in the council office have warrantless access to my email, save to embarrass me in case I dare to expose them to the terror of daylight and logic?

but if there must be arguments come to blows which matter to a nation, by all means hold them in a open elected parliament. I hope my flippancy has not compromised my positive argument, that if you want to reassure a people that genuine debate is being represented by their elected officials, it may in fact be better to have it out like the Ukrainian lot did than to purport to debate any subject the way our system does. I may be being childish on purpose, but that Ukrainian lot at least look like they’re earnest, something who we vote for sorely lack.

. . .

I wonder how many years the Bahrain GP will form a part of every curriculum that touches PR or marketing or politics or business in general. I think Joe might do well to arrange an Audience at the LSE or at other comparable universities, because there is a lot to be learned from this, even if things go “perfectly”. Yes I believe this should continue to be debated, and there is not the merest hint of shame whatsoever in making something out of it more provided the intent is to educate and discuss intelligently. Rather convolutely, this is one avenue by which F1 might still gain a new audience, without appearing the pariah. But like I said the other day, that Bernie could never deliver teleprompter schmaltz , it is about who delivers the message or debate. I keep ignoring Jean Todt, because he keeps ignoring us, well that’s French diplomacy for you, and a fine reason to get a German or a Brit in that office quick. Really it is far better to keep this discussed and open than to bury the episode in shame. One much wider reason why I’d like to see Joe go and take this debate further beyond the dedicated fans, is because right now there are crucial things in F1 not so much going wrong as just not functioning at all. Get it out farther than this blog and us race anoraks. I believe that for all the great action on track, and we are truly blessed this year again, F1 is drowning not waving, and we actually need attention to this afflicted patient before remedy is too late. The last two races ought to have dominated sports pages, with all the significance they have in top formula racing, and yet even when exceptional results happen, F1 struggles to get the column inches. Just about everyone who cares has had enough of being told everything will be all right in the morning, hush now lullaby baby, and not just about the Bahrain race.

“Not that I would or could, but it does amuse me my religion bars me from the top job. (one must be CofE)…”

I am somewhat stunned to read this, a little publicized (or known?) fact here in the U.S. You are not allowed to run for P.M. unless you’re a card carrying member of the Church of England? In retrospect I would surmise this a residual gift from Henry the VIII?? And no one has thought to change this requirement over the years??? I suppose it’s a way of removing from discussion one potentially controversial issue, but I still find it archaic.

Why I enjoy the comments (most, anyway!) on Joe’s Blog: Always something new to learn!

There’s also a story doing the rounds today entitled “Ecclestone casts doubt on US race”. A more apt title might have been “Ecclestone says: ‘Hey!, Look over there! Nothing to see here, look over there!'”

even shumi had somthing to say about it when intreveiwed along the lines of we shouldnt be going there . not that he is an authority but why doesnt a driver or a team make the stand not to go others will follow like everything they jusdt dont want to be first makes you sick ………stay safe joe their not worth getting hurt for ….the FIA and other big money makers stinks of back handers to me

I think going says a lot, formula 1 isn’t bigger than the royals money of Bahrain or they would of said no. Other than money, there is no advantage for the sport to go. It really is an advertising disaster.

If Bernie was more TRUE to the sport he would of rearranged the race in another country.

Fingers crossed it all goes to plan, but i’m still not for the race happening and look forward to joe’s reports during this week to give us an on the ground picture. Maybe it’s not a bad as we think or maybe its worse.

Piece on the Today Programme BBC radio 4 this morning at 7.30am summarised the situation and spoke to both sides. F1 was flagged as being an inevitable spark for further unrest. It is presumably available on BBC iplayer for those in the uk or clever with their proxy servers.

I find the insistence of the FIA in holding this event completely astonishing. No good can come from racing there at the moment. There are considerable safety and PR risks, and the race could easily be pulled on the basis of guaranteeing the safety of teams, spectators, media and the rest of the circus: if no such safety clauses exist in the contracts that F1 has with the promoters of individual races then I would be absolutely gobsmacked. Sport does not exist in a vacuum, and we have seen from the recent England cricket test series that was played against Pakistan in Dubai that in situations where the safety of participants and spectators cannot be guaranteed, events can be postponed, moved or cancelled.

The decision to press on with this race shows a flagrant disregard of the facts on the ground, the safety of those involved and the political realities in the country, as well as a pig-headed insistence that the FIA knows best in all situations that does them no credit at all. If there are other hidden political or contractual factors involved, then by all means reveal them so that they can be considered, but otherwise this decision is a farce, and it does a disservice to the sport and to everyone connected with it.

Stay safe. But please do try to look outside of the pixie dust covered bubble that they are going to try to keep you in. I understand that you are trying to not get involved in the politics of a country, but the very fact that this race is going ahead, makes attending it a political act, to a lesser extent.

This situation also makes me wish that F1 drivers were not such single-minded and self-obsessed animals. In any other sport there would be a wide variety of reposnses from the people involved, but I have barely heard a squeak from the drivers or the team owners. Everyone seems to want to pass the buck between the teams, the administrators, the lawyers or the FIA, but none of these bodies seems interested in actually standing up and saying this should not go ahead.

Do the drivers not have a union anymore? Could the teams not insist that they do not want to put their staff in danger and refuse to travel? If either one of these groups stood together and refused to participate, then it would force the FIA’s hand, then surely no court in the world would rule against them if the FIA tried to fine them.

It is absurd that a sport which has made such incredible progress with regard to safety during actual events in the last few decades should put everyone involved into such an avoidable situation.

“Hague made it clear that there is a political dimension to the event that takes it beyond the spheres of sport and security.”

Money + self interest = politics; war is politics by other means.

It is inconceivable to me the reach of the Bahraini cash that is funding the illusion that “all is well”, come race in our peaceful country.

It is even more astounding that Ecclestone and Todt are blinded by that same cash and and influence and blithely continuing to participate in this charade.
Actually, it’s most apropos considering the 100 year anniversary of the Titanic this week. F1’s iceberg is the small peak of cash showing above the sand of Bahrain while the truly dangerous portion is the vast sum of money below the surface flowing into the pockets of others.

The only good that may come out of this weekend may be the sacking of both Bernie and Jean.

In the immortal words of Jessie J – “Seems like everybody’s got a price, wonder how they sleep at night?” How do you sleep M. Todt?

The “price tag” here is so much more than anyone can truly justify; to the FIA, it’s their dignity; to the sport, it’s the threat to long term revenues as global sponsors lose their appetite; and to the good people of Bahrain, it could be their lives.

I love Formula 1 but I don’t believe that any sport should allow itself to be used for political agenda. The stakes in Bahrain are simply too high, as is the threat to all participants. I can see only one right thing to do here – call off the race and let the politicans concentrate their efforts on what they should be doing.

Ah, so yet again politicians expecting sport to adhere to ideals and policies the government its self will not implement. No advice to not go to Bahrain, no sanctions, no businesses told to pull out, and no end to UK to Bahrain arms sales, but sport has to make the moral stand. This is as absurd as a team being publicly happy to go while a director publicly briefs against it.

My take on it is that this is nowhere near as ‘opressive’ as some. In fact day to day it seems to run pretty well. It’s not ideal (per our take on things) but not many places are. This government is – per the region – quite progressive (maybe they could move a bit faster).

As far as ‘ooooh er watch out for the tanks when you’re there’, I’m not going to go on here, but I wouldn’t worry too much.

I’d still like somebody to tell me who in, and how much of, the population are protesting and why. Votes or money ?

If by “day to day” you mean “up to and including 2010” you’re probably right. From then on things get difficult and to some extent the police and security forces have been put in a very difficult situation, panicked and things have become dangerous.

Some of the professions which we in the “western” world consider somewhat protected in these situations (primarily I’m thinking doctors and journalists) have found themselves at best under scrutiny and at worst being arrested, beaten, etc.

That’s why Bahrain has plummeted on the Rw/oB Freedom of the Press Index – you can get the questionnaire they use from the Wiki page and it’s all about “have journalists been arrested for their reports” and similar.

How many? Honestly I’m not sure, and I agree that I’d love to see some statistics on it.

But you and tempestnut below are right on the general premise that this is an unusual state of unrest in what has otherwise been a relatively peaceful and “well-run” nation. It’s not a China or a Saudi Arabia (even a Singapore) where authoritarianism and censorship is the norm – at least not to the same degree.

OK lets call off the Olympics because we have a potential terrorist threat from both the real IRA and al Qaeda. Sound crazy, then so does the drivel on here about Bahrain. Bahrain is a secular society, my wife was born and grew up there. More has been done to spread the merger wealth, (they are not an oil rich country) educate the entire population and offerer a comprehensive health system than in any other middle eastern country.

Any comparison with Libya or Syria or Iraq or Iran is like apples to bananas and displays such a lack of knowledge and intellect that its any wonder we in the west are in the state we are if we have to rely on this sort of judgement.

Just a tiny application of intellect and a tiny bit of research, perhaps talking to people who live there as I do, perhaps if you had lived and worked out there, as I have done, and many others to besides, people wouldn’t come out with drivel.

If I sound angry it is because I am. We have interfered in the Middle East recently and in every instance we have made the situation worse. People are still patting themselves on the back over Egypt and Libya, but in Afghanistan we have been fighting for 10 years and about to lose.

Engage your brains people and see how locals are now worse off in Tunisia, Egypt and Iraq. Lets not play the game those who seek to overthrow Bahrain want us to play, because it won’t be to the benefit of the people. One word separates western attitudes from those in the middle east. And that is patience, or in our case in the west impatience.

Lastly, if you don’t go to Bahrain then you don’t go to China, and you certainly don’t go to Abu Dhabi, because having been there I know what it like for the thousands of “guest” workers, especially those who worked on the GP circuit.

Oh yes there is another word we are good at in the west at the moment; Hypocrisy

“The official religion of Bahrain is Islam” and “According to the 2001 census, 81.2% of Bahrain’s population was Muslim… The 2010 census records that the Muslim proportion had fallen to 70.2% (the 2010 census did not differentiate between the non-Muslim religions).”

To say that Bahrain is a pinnacle of peace and prosperity in the region just doesn’t line up with the facts after the past 15 months. It might have once been the case, indeed there’s some evidence to back up the idea that a few short years ago Bahrain was precisely that.

I’m not stupid enough to regard it as the be-all and end-all, but take a look at the Reporters Without Borders Press Freedom Index :

You’ll find Bahrain down at 173 out of 179 countries. But usefully the page shows the results from the previous few years, and three years ago Bahrain was at 96.

You’re right, if oppression and human rights are the metrics for choosing races then F1 needs to get out of China and Abu Dhabi too. Frankly Russia and Singapore should be looking worried too. I don’t think I’ve seen anyone here call for “regime change” either (I hate that phrase) but I’m sure that some more civil rights wouldn’t go amiss.

Further, I don’t think people on here are deluded enough to feel that the vast majority of Bahrainis are kicking up a fuss. We probably (hopefully?) all understand that 99% of Bahrainis are either happy with the status quo or jaded and cynical enough to keep their heads down and carry on.

But the problem is that Bahrain is a small enough place that if the 1% who do want to cause a fuss want to turn up, they can make the trip pretty easily.

The comparisons made by a number of vested interests between the Bahrain situation and the London riots is probably more appropriate than your parallels with terror threats and the Olympic games. We’re probably more likely to see protests and disorganised street fighting than a bomb in a grandstand. But note that in London three football league games were postponed and two international matches were cancelled after requests from the police to do so.

Ironically, John Yates was not involved in that decision because he’d already left over the phone hacking thing.

I agree entirely with the general thrust that western influence in Middle Eastern affairs has been long drawn out catastrophe. We in “the west” have been messing the whole region up for decades if not centuries. But is the Bahrain Grand Prix a case in point? Is the issue that we stick our nose in where we shouldn’t, or is it that we don’t stick our nose in when we should – showing the hypocrisy you mention.

That, dear friends, is a question for which I will need a considerably higher blood alcohol level.

Jem I did not say “Bahrain is a pinnacle of peace and prosperity” I made the point that it has never been an oil rich nation. My wife when she was a youngster had to be evacuated in the back of a RAF Hercules as Shia Muslims ran amok during one of their blood thirsty “celebrations” Bahrain is one of those places that if they could apply Democracy they would, but it wouldn’t work and would just result in Iran, who has always claimed Bahrain as theirs, over running the place. You should look upon Bahrain as a poor Monaco; more than a candidate for our western brand of democratic dictatorship we loosely call representative democracy.

When I worked in Saudi Arabia Qatar was still a no go place and yet now we are having the world cup there, something I find disgusting. In Saudi I had a special pass to travel anywhere, a very rare privilege, but my workers often got stopped and arrested going home from work if I asked them to stay late and take a car home, simply because they were Pilipino. My wife and daughter got caught up in a public beheading in the middle of the carriageway as they travelled between shops in a Taxi. The 2 Pakistani’s had only been caught tariffing drugs the previous day. They were the sacrificial lambs to the slaughter so that business as usual could continue and the police demonstrate they were doing their job. In Dubai as the money ran out the Guest workers were not paid yet not allowed home. In Saudi 500 men were employed from Sri Lanka to drive heavy trucks. None had a car let alone a driver’s licence in their own country. If they had an accident, and anyone who’s been to Saudi knows that’s hard to avoid they had to pat for repairs out of their wages. This draconian treatment resulted in the drivers “disappearing” and being smuggled back to Sri Lanka rather than face being slaves for the next 2 years.

Do I hear anyone going on about these injustices? No not a word, yet they talk the most incredible ill-informed drivel about the one place in the middle east that has some semblance of justice.

The “curious” legalities of numerous Middle Eastern nations is certainly somewhat out of step with what we might describe as modern Western values; gender equality, fair trial, bans on corporal and capital punishment. In that respect you’d be right to hail Bahrain as better than some, perhaps many, of its neighbours.

That said, overly harsh rules are one thing and public demonstrations at various levels on the peaceful-violent scale are another. Which isn’t to say that the former should get a free pass; but in terms of impact on F1 – notably from a teams/journos/sponsors safety point of view – the latter is more of an issue.

Honestly I don’t know how an attempt to apply “our western brand of democratic dictatorship” (nice phrase by the way) would go in Bahrain, the Iran thing seems a stretch in my eyes given the US interests there, but given the colossal failure of US attempts to implement democracy in Central & South America and then Iraq and Afghanistan, I’d agree that the likely conclusion is frankly too full of expletives to write here.

Hi Tempestnut,
I won’t argue with you about what happens in Saudi Arabia because I very ogten wander why we so rarely hear complaints about the human rights situation there (not to mention the fact that 19 out of 22 9/11 hijackers were Saudis), but the “semblance of justice” you claim for Bahrain surely doesn’t apply to the doctors and nurses ruthlesly beaten, jailed and condemned for doing their jobs in going to the rescue of the (yes I know, they were Shia) wounded.

Hi leblase. You are right about the doctors, who in our western world are treated with reverence and kindness when they are doing their job saving lives, even in the middle of a war zone. My own daughter is a doctor. Where I am coming from is how we get everything out of proportion these days in the west, we follow group think without engaging our brains, and we will jump to protect 2 people and sacrifice thousands over the long term. The only reason there will be an increase in trouble in Bahrain is because our idiot western press will report it from a skewed perspective, ignoring any activities the so called oppressed may get up to, and failing completely to fully inform their readers. I was an avid reader of news papers but refuse to buy them now such is the decline in quality

The one thing we can’t do is apply our western values to every situation we see in the middle east. At no point in any of my posts have I passed judgement on one side or the other in Bahrain. All I will say is that many people are very sad that the rulers allowed themselves to be sucked into violence when they could have used a but more intelligent approach.

But they are not the first basically good government to fall into this trap and won’t be the last. My wife and I love the middle east and the desert, but unfortunately it is all being destroyed in different ways.

The way things are getting reported at the moment I can’t help but think that some journalists(not including you Joe) are actually hoping something bad does happen. Why the daily mirror’s F1 journalist seems to be actively trying to seek out trouble spots I cannot fathom, apart from a need for sensationalism. After all he’s a sports reporter not Kate Adie.

Yes I’m sure if journalists bugger off to the villages they can find protests going on, but when you’ve got other journalists in Manama and going out to the track saying they haven’t seen any trouble as yet you have to wonder about peoples agendas.

I can’t wait for you to get to Bahrain Joe so we can get a real idea of what is what.

I have had the opportunity to meet quite a number of whores over the course of my adult life. Some of them are unprincipled individuals, motivated only by greed. But, many of them are lovely people who provide very enjoyable company at a fair price.

Comparing the F1 aristocracy to whores is painting with an overly broad brush and is a disservice to the many reputable whores who have done nothing to deserve such verbal abuse.

Your predictions are coming true Joe: F1 is being used as a political tool. Quite likely by both sides. And now the pols are jumping on the bandwagon because there’s no domestic political risk to trashing the event.

The british politicians have said too little too late in my veiw, and you are right in saying joe ”Politicians are never slow to spot an opportunity” but they have been sitting on the fence, until now. Now it is really too late to pull out as everyone will be arriving shortly with the mechanics and the cars….

The national news media in the US never mentions F1, until now. They have been showing the demonstrations by the opposition in Bahrain after the decision to race there. Most people here don’t really know anything about F1, to bad that for so many this controversy will be all they know…

And another flip-flop from Damon. What’s going on with him? Have the little guys (BE and JT) been coercing him into understanding the thing he has to do in not mingle with their interests?
Anyway, the more it goes, the more Jean Todt makes one wish he had retired somewhere far and lost, after having been so swiftly let out of Ferrari.

I can’t believe that anyone involved in F1 is unaware of the political dimensions of the sport. Too many of its races (and race venues) are funded with public dollars for there to be any doubt about the issue of politics in the sport.

Bahrain represents something of a focal point for the politics because of the money ties between the sport and the government there; which leaves us with a week like this, where the influences of the commerce and politics come together to fan emotions and put people in positions of personal risk.

F1’s reputation is always on the line when it shows up to race. Indianapolis anyone?

The sport certainly knows how to generate the drama. I just hope that any drama we see this week (and any physical danger) is confined to the track where it belongs…if you like your sports politic-free.

This is like the Michelin tyre issue at Indy except that it is a lot more serious. F1 is going to blindly stumble into this because no-one will stand up and make a sane decision.

One of the sad aspects of this whole mess has been the number of comments by F1 people that they are sure their safety will be guaranteed. All sorts of F1 people have made comments on the subject and very few have mentioned the safety of the indiginous population. I know F1 lives in a bubble but it would be nice to think that in a situation like this the majority would at least make a comment about the locals.

I have never chosen to miss a grand prix on TV since we got half decent coverage in the UK in 1978 but I will not watch any session of this event and I will not pay any attention to F1 sites beyond finding out the result because it affects the championship position for the rest of the season. My not watching will make no difference to anyone but I will know I didn’t watch.

I dread some protestor or group of protestors getting on the track. A couple of years ago I was watching a tribute to Tom Pryce on youtube when unexpectedly a clip of his fatal accident in South Africa was played. The site of a young marshal being hit by an F1 car at 150 ish mph and being torn apart will live with me forever. I really don’t need to see a repeat in HD.

For once I am not hoping for a great race. I am only hoping no-one dies inside or outside the track.

Great piece in today’s Times by Kevin Eason…boldly and bravely going where sports reporters rarely tread! Are the security forces restricting the media’s movements around town Joe or are you free to come and go as you please?

The Bahraini authorities are clearly concerned. ABC news (Australia) is reporting that 60 anti-F1 protest leaders have been arrested, along with Amnesty International stating they have reliable sources indicating use of torture.

All in all very unpleasant and is really starting to portray our sport in a very bad light.

I have a bad feeling the world of F1 is going to regret going there this year.

Exploiting it for what reason? I have been reporting on something that worries me. I have listened to all sides and I have reached my own conclusions. I have nothing to gain from siding with one side or the other, I am just telling it as I see it. You see it differently. You are from India (according to your IP address) why would you know any better than I do. Or are you just a misguided Mallya fan trying to shovel shit at me?

Joe you doth protest too much. I do know a bit about Bahrain, and I find your treatment of this subject at odds with all your other reporting. And you have made a meal of it, and been short with those who disagree with you on this subject. Just my opinion which you will no doubt point out I’m entitled to and at odds with received wisdom. So be it but the west has demonstrated extremely poor judgement in the middle east over the last 12 years if not more, so you will forgive me if I am so impertinent as to suggest we need another approach.

I am not protesting at all. I am reporting and trying to give perspective to a problem that could do immense damage to the sport. The Middle East is what it is, and it is not a question of 12 years. It is a problem that goes back centuries. Sport cannot fix it.